Computing and networking resources have essentially reached utility status—that is, the Internet along with wireless and wired networks have made network-based computing services accessible, inexpensive, and ubiquitous. Virtual machine technologies have made it possible to simplify massive cloud computing installations. And desired state configuration (“DSC”) systems has made it relatively easy to configure and manage massive numbers of computing devices such as deployed in cloud computing and similar installations. Even so, DSC is relatively new and is impaired by various shortcomings that result in the need for manual intervention—a significant problem in massive deployments.